PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Jennifer Harvey has taken a detour from the dentist for years and what happened was diseased, decayed teeth!
"My gums were just bleeding all the time," she said.
Recommended Videos
Larry Lieberman, DDS of General, Cosmetic, and Laser Dentistry in Palm Harbor Florida, says more than 800,000 visits a year to the emergency room are because of teeth troubles.
"It's very difficult to handle all the emergencies," he said.
And those emergencies could be more than just in your mouth. Did you know white, yellow or brown spots and grooves on the tooth surface could be a sign of celiac disease? Pain in your top teeth could be a sign of sinus infection. Canker sores are a tell-tale sign of allergies you may not know you have. If your mouth tastes like you've been licking an aluminum can, it could be trying to tell you, you need more zinc. Swollen white nodes towards the back of your tongue could indicate HPV, and a bluish color on your tongue, may be a sign of oral cancer.
Harvey's problems turned out not too serious, she was diagnosed with gum disease. To help with the disease she's upped her dental game and is now brushing and flossing twice a day, she stays away from chewy foods and orange juice, and soda is totally out of the question.
"If you put a tooth in soda, you're going to see it dissolves within several days" Lieberman said.
Now that her teeth have gone from diseased and decayed to healthy and shiny, Harvey doesn't mind a day with the dentist.
"It's so much easier to come to the dentist now," she added.
Lieberman advises his patients to take CoQ10. He says it helps teeth and all cells of the body work better. Also, research from the journal of the American dental association shows Vitamin D deficiencies in pregnant women can lead to tooth decay in their babies.